Economic bases of international mechanisms on climate change

Abstract

Neither the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change nor the Kyoto Protocol nor other international agreements aiming at the establishment of legal and economic — and also sustainable — world development mechanisms seeking to achieve a harmony between economic growth and preservation of the environment have led to any reduction in annual increases of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. This is due, to a considerable extent, to the initially non-complete principles of evaluation regarding the different responsibilities of countries in connection with atmosphere pollution. The aforementioned principles are based on total emissions volumes. However, what might be seen as more justified in any estimation of permissible pollution levels is, within potential international trading of volume quotas for the rights to carbon dioxide emissions, an account of the intensity of pollution per square kilometer of surface area and the absorption potential of forests and other green plantations present in every country.

Twenty years of carbon accounting and auditing – a review and outlook

“…Despite the necessity of reducing carbon emissions, overall greenhouse gas releases have increased world-wide (Siskos 2003). This is largely due to the staggering growth of large emerging economies such as China and India, while other large economies, particularly the United States, have not been sufficiently willing or able to reduce their already exceedingly high emission levels.…”